Car enthusiasts may have lamented its switch from a truck to a car platform, and magazines like Motor Trend and Consumer Reports have slammed it, but consumers have really taken to the Ford Explorer. While sales figures weren’t available at the time of publication, Ford reports that 43.5 percent of Explorer sales are conquests, and...
Continue Reading...
Chrysler announced an $843 million investment in its Indiana transmission plant as it prepares to build a 9-speed automatic transmission front front-drive vehicles. The announcement comes on the heels of General Motors announcement of a $2 billion infusion into a number of plants, including $200 million for upgrades to its Toledo, Ohio plant to build...
Continue Reading...
It was only a matter of time before the rich and famous began hopping on the Chevrolet Volt bandwagon, since the Toyota Prius is in imminent danger of becoming passé. The Volt has found owners among luminaries like Jeff Gordon, Jay Leno, Stephen King and Alyssa Milano. “I think it’s a great car,” said Leno in an...
Continue Reading...
General Motors will invest $2 billion across 17 plants, as the company retools existing plants to build new products and hire more workers. GM confirmed that their Toledo, Ohio plant would receive $250 million in improvements and create 250 new jobs. CEO Dan Akerson didn’t announced which plants would be infused with new capital, but the Detroit-Hamtramck...
Continue Reading...
The first generation Chrysler 300 was famously described by comedian Katt Williams as “…a [Rolls Royce] Phantom…until a Phantom pull up next to you…”, and that ignominious distinction was no doubt fueled by the frequent addition of an aftermarket Bentley-esque egg-crate grille by some owners. Chrysler’s Mopar division is looking to capitalize on this trend by...
Continue Reading...
Chrysler filed documents with the Security and Exchange Commission that revealed that parent company Fiat has a one year option to increase its stake in the American automaker to as much as 70 percent. The increase is contingent on Chrysler repaying its government loans, and the automaker will be issuing new debt in a bid to allow...
Continue Reading...
MG Rover may have been able to retain much of its British character after being acquired by Chinese automaker SAIC, the company’s tie-in with General Motors may see the next generation MG Rover products use GM technologies, including platforms. The Roewe 750 sedan, formerly based on the Rover 75, may be based on the Epsilon...
Continue Reading...
With the Nissan Leaf beginning to outsell the Chevrolet Volt, the competition between the two is heating up, and General Motors North America President Mark Reuss had some not-so-nice things to say about the car when asked for his thoughts. Reuss said that the Leaf was “…has a finite range and requires infrastructure and charging...
Continue Reading...
A widespread outcry by race fans and Indianapolis residents has led to Donald Trump being given the boot from the Indy 500 pace car drivers seat. Trump was scheduled to drive a 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible at this summer’s race. While Trump claimed earlier that he would not back down from the opportunity, race organizers...
Continue Reading...
General Motors Co. may reduce production of pickup trucks after inventories rose last month. GM’s truck inventory rose to more than 275,000 at the end of April working out to about 111 days of supply, according to Don Johnson, GM’s vice president of U.S sales. GM dealers had about 264,000 trucks on their lots last...
Continue Reading...
The upcoming Cadillac ATS is expected to slot below the mid-size CTS, and compete with upcoming compact luxury cars. In order to differentiate itself from the CTS, the ATS will get a series of smaller engines, with an Ecotec 4-cylinder or a small V6 (much like the high feature V6, seen above) among the possibilities....
Continue Reading...
General Motors is investing $131 million into their Bowling Green, Kentucky factory to help improve the legendary plant that produces the Chevrolet Corvette, but a new car won’t show up for another two model years. Having made upgrades to the 2012 model, General Motors will focus on re-tooling the plant, while also adding 250 workers...
Continue Reading...
The Ram Long Hauler concept is getting a fair amount of attention for its ability to travel 1,600 miles on a single tank of fuel, but you won’t have to wait for its Kentucky Derby debut on May 6th to see the rest of the truck. Surprisingly, the Long Hauler is quite opulent featuring tray...
Continue Reading...
The Nissan Leaf outsold the Chevrolet Volt in April, reversing March’s sales numbers where the Volt handily outsold the Leaf. Nissan moved 573 Leaf EVs in April, while 493 Volts found a home amongst buyers. Whie the Volt has been leading in total sales with (2,029 sold, compared to 1,044 for the Leaf), if April’s...
Continue Reading...
At the unveiling of the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, chief engineer Mark Moussa took some time to discuss the future of the car with the folks at egmCarTech, and Moussa took great lengths to tout the advantages of the new Ecotec 4-cylinder engine and the Malibu’s sporting character. Naturally, Moussa was pressed on the possibility of...
Continue Reading...
Lincoln may show an updated version of its Concept C small car at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show, as automakers of all stripes begin rolling out their new smaller, fuel efficient cars that feature much of the same equipment as more upscale models. The first Concept C, which debuted in 2009, was attractive but...
Continue Reading...
The days of multiple supercharged V8s for Cadillac look to be ending as GM’s luxury division is now mulling four-cylinder engines on multiple product lines. While the upcoming ATS sports sedan is a natural candidate for a four banger, rumor has it that the Cadillac XTS full size sedan may also be offered with a...
Continue Reading...
Our friends over at Left Lane News have grabbed the first video of the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 clearing its pipes, and just like the last version, it sounds downright mean. Unveiled at the 2011 New York Auto Show, the fastest Jeep packs a 6.4L Hemi V8 with 465 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of...
Continue Reading...
NHTSA is investigating the 2010-2011 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner for a rear window that could potentially shatter. So far, the government agency has received 18 complaints regarding the rear window shattering when the tailgate is opened or closed. 200,000 Escape and Mariner vehicles will now be investigated, and Ford has issued a service bulletin regarding the...
Continue Reading...
Auto industry legend Bob Lutz may no longer be in the employ of the Big Three, but that hasn’t ever stopped “Maximum Bob” from giving his two cents on what the industry could do improve upon At the New York Auto Show, Lutz held court for a handful of journalists and expanded on what he...
Continue Reading...
According to a tweet from Ward’s Auto, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionee has confirmed the existence of two new models in the pipeline, the Dodge Charger Super Bee and a Gucci-branded edition of the Fiat 500. The last generation Super Bee was mechanically identical to the Charger SRT-8, although it came in unique pastel colors and...
Continue Reading...
While Audi is famous for their quattro all-wheel drive system, Lincoln is the only domestic luxury car brand to offer every single product with an AWD option, and buyers are leaning strongly towards having all 4 wheels powered on many of their products. Lincoln reports that 72 percent of MKT buyers and 62 percent of...
Continue Reading...
The Chevrolet Corvette gets a lot of grief for having a less-than-opulent interior, but the upgraded 2012 models will not only get some new materials on the inside, but the Z06 and ZR1 performance models will get new tires and a couple handling packages designed to boost performance. Interior upgrades include new seats and a...
Continue Reading...
The Holden Commodore Ute has had more false starts in the United States than Elizabeth Taylor has had marriages, but rising gas prices might give General Motors an impetus to import the Ute as a pickup alternative at a time when high gas prices are making large trucks economically unfeasible. Mark Reuss, GM’s head of...
Continue Reading...
sidebar...
